My friend Storm got me into it and in a fit of holiday crafting this weekend I watched until somewhere in season 3. Okay, knowledgable peeps, give it to me straight: when do I get off this boat?

This series just has that sadistic feeling where it will all just end in tears if you stay too long. You know when you aren't spoiled but just have this feeling that they're going to kill everyone off by the end? And not in a big explosion-oh-hey-we're-all-heroes-and-saved-the-universe-and-defenseless-babies-and-kittens kind of way but more like we've-got-you-hooked-so-now-we're-going-to-have-them-all-probably-kill-each-other-slowly-but-not-until-after-all-their-worst-nightmares-have-been-realized.

Spoil me, people. What is the ratio of "Genuinely Mostly Happy" vs "Insane and/or Dead" of Our Heroes at the end of the series? Because I am all about happiness and muppets and giant space whales and snappy one-liners and everyone randomly sexing each other, but I have no desire to have my emotional face chewed off. I'm very good at stopping at a happy place mid-way through a series and waving off the end without having seen it.

(But then, had spoilers existed in the late 90s, I never would have watched past the end of Season 6 of DS9, and I would have missed out on Ezri and the Alamo and Damar and that one time Vic Fontaine's holosuite program was taken over by mobsters. You see my dilemma.)

Farscapers: discuss.

Three more points:

1. It's hilarious how Ben Browder is basically already on SG-1, but more so. No wonder the producers were like "That guy. We need THAT GUY."

2. "Frell" still sounds ridiculous to me - sorry y'all who use this in everyday speech now - but I love the mental image I have of whoever developed translator microbes being all prudish and putting decency censors on them. You know that "frell" isn't a real word in anybody's language - it's the translator microbe version of when a chatroom automatically changes what you type to F*** and you're like "G*D D****T I WAS BEING PROFANE HERE ON PURPOSE." Random Space FCC for the win.

3. Best character? Pilot. Obviously. Though I have some deep abiding love for Chianna. I mean, chick brings her own grayscale wherever she goes. (I'm probably not spelling that right. I mean, I assume I'm spelling Pilot right, but you just NEVER KNOW with this show. I thought "Zan" and "Rigel" seemed pretty straight forward, but noooo, somebody needed more scrabble points.)

I'm not mocking your favorite show, guys. I love this. I'm just hyper after a long workday and BASICALLY FOUR WEEKS OF NOT BEING ON THE INTERNET AT ALL FOR NO REASON EXCEPT THAT MAMA RED GAVE ME A UKULELE.

As someone who has seen the entire series all the way through, bad things happen, and there is some insanity, but very nearly everyone gets out of the show alive. Also, when Good Stuff Happens? It is the very BESTEST EVER.

Uuuuh. Stop now? Because the end of season 3 basically RIPS YOUR HEART OUT, STOMPS ON IT, resurrects it, beats it about for a while, makes it fall in love again, lets it SOAR FOREVER IN GLEE, then whips out the Louisville slugger for a bit of "OH MY GOD WHY!?", then lets it heal gloriously, STABS IT, and leaves you going "....BEST. SHOW. EVER. MADE."

You're the only one who says STOP NOW and yet you also understand my WEAKNESS OF EMOTIONAL CHARACTER WHEN IT COMES TO SEEING PEOPLE CRY ON MY TEEVEE.

Maybe there needs to be a Farscape extension of the Happy Voyager Project. I don't know who Neelix would be though in this instance. Probably John. Or Chiana. John would throw Luaus in Pilot's room and everyone else is like "....." especially Aeryn but D'Argo will totally be down with it after Chiana gets him liquored up and Pilot with a giant lei would be hilarious. Zhaan would have grown special flowers for it and then tried to be respectful of John's sacred Hawaiian shirt rituals and Aeryn is like FFS and Rigel keeps hoarding the booze, and Zhaan and Moya telepathically swap romance novels OR SOMETHING.

UKULELE IS BEST THING EVER!! Oh man it's like a tiny little toy guitar that is full of lightness and joy and everything is magically easy except playing an E chord and the E flat isn't much fun either but it's just all tinkly happiness.

I know that Farscape had to be scripted, because there are effects and puppets and people had to stand on marks to be in the shot and stuff, but sometimes it feels like they're having a crazy sci-fi-themed improv. And then all of a sudden they are SUPER SERIOUS OH GOD THE ANGST IS STEPPING ON MY FACE and that's why I needed to be spoiled.

He's the ship's admin. Basically. And I love that about him. Whenever no one is around he gossips about the crew with the DRDs in space morse code. Also, he has such a good puppet face!! PILOT I LOVE HIMMMM.

I HAVE NOT GOTTEN THERE YET, at least, I don't think so, because I am still okay with living on this planet. However, every time someone gets a little bit happy I am like I DON'T BELIEVE YOU, SHOW. SO MUCH HAPPINESS CAN ONLY END IN TEARS. And then I have to watch some TNG and have Riker stroke his beard lasciviously at some random ladies for a while. (Pretty sure I need an icon that says RIKER WILL SAVE US. Make that happen, internet.)

I've also had the strange desire to watch Hercules In SpaceAndromeda. I only ever saw a few episodes of that in baby sister's basement bedroom/cannabis lounge and all I remember through the haze of smoke was that the ship was, like, ALIIIIVE, and also a hot chick sometimes, so the Captain could toooootally really have sex with his ship, and Captain Kirk would be allllllll over that-

ANYWAY, I AM NOT AT THAT EPISODE YET AND KIND OF THINK I SHOULD JUST STOP NOW. I mean right now there are two Crichtons running around so technically one could get to bang Aeryn forever and the other one could get home and make a zillion dollars being the creative consultant to Michael Bay or something AND EVERYONE COULD BE HAPPY, BUT YOU JUST KNOW THE SHOW WOULD NOT MAKE THAT CHOICE.

FARSCAAAAAAAAAAAAPE!!! God, I haven't seen an episode in almost ten years, but it was my first real fandom (with cons! and mailing lists!) and I will always love it.

Um, from what I remember, there's only one non-villain who doesn't make it out alive at the end. A couple of them end the show with their sanity hanging by a thinner thread than when it started out, but if you're in S3 you've already seen a lot of that. Anyway, the light at the end of the tunnel is usually not an oncoming train, although it will feel like that for much of season three. Season four is...iffy. There is a Head Lobster of Truth in one episode. I think also some kind of space clam. The crack was stronger than usual in that season. I honestly don't remember very much of it, and I'm not even sure I watched all of it, but the finale is amazing. And a cliffhanger that SUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKED at the time (so good, but OMG I HAD TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED AND IT WAS CANCELED SO I WOULD NEVER KNOW!!!), but then they got a miniseries and it cleared things up.

Dude! I have seen the head lobster of truth! It honestly didn't even ping my bizarr-o-meter, which now that you mention it is kind of concerning. Possibly the Star Trek animated series broke me? Or just the rest of Farscape is SO WEIRD that it takes more than aquatic polygraphic headgear to really stand out?

Ooooh, as an aficionado of both series, perhaps you can weigh in: who's the Lyta of Farscape? My friend and I can't decide if it's Pilot (or possibly Moya) or the blonde Peacekeeper tech who was in love with John. (Lyta, of course, being the show's whipping girl, poor thing.)

Angsty as hell and there are several deaths, but there is also a lot of happiness and you MUST watch Peacekeeper Wars after the main series, bc the ending of the main series is really damn dark and PKW redeems it.

That site is whut? I can't use the internets. Ohhhh I get it now. Fanlistings, yah? I think I was expecting a wiki to teach me things and I couldn't find the content. Your images are pretty tho! ;) I must admit that I don't really understand fanlistings and everyone I know who is into them mostly complains about how stressful they are for some reason??? My God I sound like my dad asking Why Is Twitter.

I don't know why people make dark things that involve muppets. Muppets should be =/= dark! I think I need to redevote my screen time to My Little Pony. I AM NOT EMOTIONALLY EQUIPPED FOR GROWN UP TELEVISION.

It definitely has more hits than misses so far. S1 took a little while to get going, which is okay - I tend to like first seasons once I've seen a little more of the show because the rockiness becomes endearing. I think because I'm watching it so fast I'm not getting the OMG EPICNESSSSSS of it that I would get if I was waiting a week between episodes to mull everything over and rewatch each one and get all the little connections. But when it's good, it's totally close to perfect. :)

I have only just re-discovered the show myself, but I'm only into the 2nd season.. freaking awesome thus far though!!! Claudia Black already owned my soul just from being a side character from Pitch Black and being female and badass, and realizing it was her again made me squee!

She was in Pitch Black?? Isn't that the Vin Diesel movie that my sister Squeek had giant posters of and loooooved forever and ever? (Not that you would know that about my sister specifically, but I imagine you can infer.) If so, I saw that movie and remember not liking it because - fittingly - it was too dark for me to see any of it on my little TV at the time.

However, that might explain why she looked so familiar when icons of her started popping up all over the internet.

Farscape is my gold standard for putting you through hell as a viewer, but making it all come out worth it in the end. And by that, I mean, you have to get all the way through season four and then you have to get through Peacekeeper Wars too.

In the end, Zhaan stays dead (but that's because Virgina couldn't take the makeup and hair any more), except she's probably Ascended or spiritually alive somewhere.

Stark stays alive. And bugfuck nuts. But that's just who Stark is supposed to be.

Crais stays heroically dead. As does Talyn. I'm still kind of pissed about that.

Pilot is the most adorable Muppet ever on the show.

D'Argo and Jool are killed in the season finale. But we don't have bodies, and their heads aren't being carried around on a popsicle stick, so they're probably not dead dead, just Daniel Jackson or Elizabeth Weir dead, just like Zhaan.

You haven't met Sikozu yet. She gets progressively more amazing until the PK Wars writers decided to do a 180 on her characterization. I'm assuming there would have been triple or quadruple crossing if PK Wars had been the full season it was intended to be, and not a miniseries.

Scorpius: Never not creepy!

DK: WAH.

Chiana: I love her SO MUCH. I never don't love her. I will always adore her. There are so many good things I could say about her, but I'm too busy flailing.

John and Aeryn: OH HOLY FUCK. That ship was one hell of a rollercoaster, and I remember many times where I just wanted them to RESOLVE IT ALREADY, and then season four ended and I, like the rest of the fandom, was all, 'YOU DID NOT JUST DO THAT TO ME I HATE YOU.' And then we had PK Wars and it was beautiful and also there was Muppet surrogate pregnancy. AND THEY GOT TOGETHER IN THE END.

Basically, there's a lot of angst and pain before they get to the end, but the end is amazing and makes it all worth it (in my opinion).

mylittleredgirl on December 13th, 2011 05:27 am (UTC)Re: When you say "spoil me" I assume you mean it.

Yes. That is precisely what I was after. THANK YOU.

DK? Who? Ohhhh... I'm supposed to care about him? I... kind of thought he was just an idea the writers had in the premiere because I completely forgot about him, and then he showed up in one of the many we-basically-just-dropped-acid-don't-mind-us episodes and I was all "...? OH THAT GUY. How random!" I should take notes on these things. Also, since you said WAH I will try not to get emotionally attached to him.

Jool: I'm assuming that she's the Annoying Character With No Skills Who Develops Skills And Then We Feel Bad For Hating Her All Along? I'll just pretend I already like her since apparently she'll stick around for a while.

Crais and Talyn aren't dead yet, but I could see that one coming. Because... come on. I would put my money on the Crichton on Talyn dying heroically as well trying to save them but I'm not sure I trust this show to not just run a spike through him randomly when they realize they haven't ripped Aeryn's sense of the world apart in an episode or two and crap, we have two Crichtons now and we really should have had a plan for this. So, giant spike. It's a possibility, anyway.

I was prepared for Zhaan's death (I still spell it Zan in my head, because otherwise I want to say it with a German accent), and I'm so delighted that they keep mentioning her like she actually existed. It would have been pretty hilarious though if they literally planted her in the ground on some planet and then just flew off for the rest of the series all "We'll come back and harvest you later when you're all healed!" and then there are a whole planet full of blooming Zhaans. OPPORTUNITY MISSED.

Scorpius: UGHHHH he was cool for a while but I think the drawback of watching all these episodes back to back is that his creepiness got boring. I just want him to shut up and go away. They're trying to introduce Motivations for him now, possibly, but I'm over it. It could be because the Skarans (sp?) seem... kind of inept. Their special power is breathing heat, and the rest of the universe is really scared of them? I'm sure this will be explained and I sound really silly to you who Know Things, but for now I'm just "eh." My friend says he's the Best Villain Ever, though, so I will watch for awesomeness.

Chiana: I was so surprised when she was there the episode after she was introduced. I was like "Uh... huh?" because she seemed so much like a Guest Star Of The Week. And now I'm just like NEVER STOP BEING ON MY TEEVEE, YOU MAGNIFICENT GRAY PERSON. I LOVE HER AND SHE IS MAKING ME DO RECKLESS THINGS IN MY LIFE. <3 <3 <3

John and Aeryn: Oh, yes, and yes, and I knew that, and I knew that too, and I wasn't spoiled but you just like KNOW when you've seen enough TV that characters who get together in any season except right before the end of the show will be brutally ripped apart over, and over, and over, until finally they hate each other so much that you're like "Good lord you will NEVER BE HAPPY, JUST DIE OR GET YOUR MEMORIES WIPED PLZ." (See also: Mulder & Scully). Except apparently they get together in the end and it's good!? This is a twist! I wanted to hear this! This is much better than expected.

PILOT IS THE GREATEST. Does Moya survive to the end? This is important to know. If you say no I might not watch. MOYAAAAA.

THANK YOU FOR EXPLAINING ALL OF THIS! I really, really, really like to know who lives and who dies always. I read the ends of books first for this reason. As long as I know that someone is alive and gets what they want at the end I can hang all my hopes on them and get through it. Huzzah!

PK Wars is not available on Netflix, so I should probably obtain it and keep it in a safe place before I watch any further. Maybe I'll just skip ahead and watch that and then go back. Because I'm fragile.

Seriously, I've tried on at least 3 occasions to watch the entire show and never been able to get through S3. I get to the episode where they're all shagging like rabbits and I don't want to go forward because I know something TERRIBLE is about to happen, and yes, I know it will be okay in the end, because I watched PKWars so I know how it all ends, but man, I keep flaking out.

I'm OK with quitting if it's something that can kill you - like smoking. Or unnecessary face-mashing angst.

I think the sense of impending doom would be less thick if I didn't know that there needed to be two Crichtons so they could run two concurrent storylines and that clearly one of them will have to die and it will be whichever one will break all the other characters the most. I think I can do this if I just mainline it. I would have been like nope, nope, I'm done if I were watching this live. (Like how I couldn't handle Battlestar Galactica when it aired but could probably do it if I just spent ten straight days having the most depressing TV-watching marathon in my life.)

Proud owner of this Farscape icon (....> points to wherever it is .......>) since I came to Lj.

I watched FS from almost the beginning and it literally changed stuff in my life. I met people and did things I wouldn't of remotely thought possible because of being into FS!

That being said, I can rarely *rewatch* it because of the heart stomping! But if you've got this far you have to keep going! And I can't stress enough that you have to see the miniseries because the series finale is like, whaaaat? but the mini makes it ok almost immediately. Or you could stop when they're in the boat and pretend it ends there.

There is some angst in the mini, but there is badass chickery, gun fights, strange aliens, Crichton continues to be hot and do does Aeryn, and they are *together* and there's a baby and apparently there's a Lion King moment at the end. (I say apparently, because I've never seen the Lion King!).

Farscape generated some of the most wonderful kickass fan fic, as well! Get some recs, because there were/are some quality writers out there!

I came to Farscape fresh out of TNG, and I usually say TNG was my first boyfriend and Farscape was my first love!